Could post-Cyprus debrief get Lukyanuk back on ERC title track?
ByERC
Published 18/07/2018 at 04:01 GMT
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AUTO - ERC AZORES RALLY 2018
Image credit: ERC
Alexey Lukyanuk starts Rally di Roma Capitale playing catch-up his bid to win the FIA European Rally Championship – but under “no stress” following a post-Cyprus Rally debrief.
Lukyanuk lost his ERC title advantage to Bruno Magalhães at the end of the Larnaca-based event last month after he failed to finish for a second rally running.
But the Russian Performance Motorsport star said he’s keeping calm with the support of his team and co-driver Alexey Arnautov.
“We did some debrief after Cyprus and we decided to continue in the way we did,” he said. “In Cyprus it was really bad luck with this stone and we thought a lot [about] how we could prevent things like that in the future. I hope our decisions and my preparations, especially my mental training, can help a little bit but sometimes you can do nothing about it.
“In general we will still try not to win each stage in case some drivers will be really fast. We will focus on our goal of scoring points but we will not be slow, we will try to be on the pace but without some extra risks, we will try to play a game and not push like hell.”
Lukyanuk completed a short “shakedown” in Italy on Monday ahead of what could be a crucial rally in terms of his title aspirations.
“Any rally is a really difficult challenge and you never know what kind of trouble you are going to have,” said Lukyanuk, who celebrated 100 rally starts in Cyprus. “We are more or less relaxed and calm with no big stress. We had quite bad luck in two rallies before but we hope it will change and we will have a trouble-free rally this time.”
The 37-year-old was leading Rally di Roma Capitale last season when a crash put him out nearing the end of the first leg. But he’s not dwelling on past disappointments and insists there’s no unfinished business.
“I never thought it that way, we lost some experience and did not check the roads and the notes for the second day. But what happened has happened and we leave it behind and look forward.”
Rally di Roma Capitale takes place from 20-22 July and marks the start of the second half of the 2018 ERC season.
But the Russian Performance Motorsport star said he’s keeping calm with the support of his team and co-driver Alexey Arnautov.
“We did some debrief after Cyprus and we decided to continue in the way we did,” he said. “In Cyprus it was really bad luck with this stone and we thought a lot [about] how we could prevent things like that in the future. I hope our decisions and my preparations, especially my mental training, can help a little bit but sometimes you can do nothing about it.
“In general we will still try not to win each stage in case some drivers will be really fast. We will focus on our goal of scoring points but we will not be slow, we will try to be on the pace but without some extra risks, we will try to play a game and not push like hell.”
Lukyanuk completed a short “shakedown” in Italy on Monday ahead of what could be a crucial rally in terms of his title aspirations.
“Any rally is a really difficult challenge and you never know what kind of trouble you are going to have,” said Lukyanuk, who celebrated 100 rally starts in Cyprus. “We are more or less relaxed and calm with no big stress. We had quite bad luck in two rallies before but we hope it will change and we will have a trouble-free rally this time.”
The 37-year-old was leading Rally di Roma Capitale last season when a crash put him out nearing the end of the first leg. But he’s not dwelling on past disappointments and insists there’s no unfinished business.
“I never thought it that way, we lost some experience and did not check the roads and the notes for the second day. But what happened has happened and we leave it behind and look forward.”
Rally di Roma Capitale takes place from 20-22 July and marks the start of the second half of the 2018 ERC season.
The post Could post-Cyprus debrief get Lukyanuk back on ERC title track? appeared first on FIA ERC.
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